Building effective brands from Silicon Valley to Silicon Slopes.

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EKR is full of quirky creatives and high-spirited strategists. And the truth is, it’s our quirks and creativity that make us awesome at marketing. So, if you want a brand nobody can ignore—one that exudes unmistakable ROI—then we’re your kind of agency. Turn us loose on your next project to build the attention-getting brand mojo you deserve.

HISTORY

EKR was founded in 2001 by Lance Black and Jarid Love. Through the acquisition of Bill Brady’s brand strategy firm, M2 Results, in 2010, and Michael Janda’s creative agency, Riser, in 2015, EKR has grown into a nationally recognized agency with a full complement of brand-growing services.

OUR TEAM

EKR’s partners, along with a team of more than 50 people, are dedicated to expanding the brand reach of our clients. Our services are segmented into four effectively operating departments: strategy, design, development and digital marketing. Each department is managed by seasoned leaders and regimented processes which ensure consistent, high-quality deliverables.

LANCE BLACK // PARTNER

Lance graduated from Brigham Young University with an undergraduate degree in computer science and an MBA. As a partner, he oversees the company’s operational performance, is heavily engaged in business development and works with the executive team to establish vision and culture. He is a charismatic leader and consummate problem solver. Connect on LinkedIn.

JARID LOVE // PARTNER

Jarid received a Computer Science degree from Utah Valley University before co-founding Eli Kirk with Lance in 2001. He is an accomplished programmer and effective leader who has personally built EKR’s 20-person development team. Jarid directs the scoping, architecture and programming of websites, web applications and mobile apps produced by the company. Connect on LinkedIn.

BILL BRADY // PARTNER

Prior to his arrival at EKR in 2010, Bill owned a Salt Lake City brand strategy firm for 11 years, guided Wall Street PR for a billion-dollar publicly traded company and directed global PR for an international software company. Bill graduated with a degree in PR from BYU, where he served as Student Body President, and is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of Utah. At EKR, Bill shares oversight of the company’s day-to-day operations, oversees business development and guides the work of the agency’s marketing services team. Connect on LinkedIn.

INC. 500/5000 WINNER

EKR has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the nation—three times!

Our incredible growth landed us the #1657 spot on the list in 2013, #4018 in 2017 and #4769 in 2018. In addition to this national recognition, EKR has been recognized six times as one of Utah’s fastest-growing businesses.

2018 – Inc. 500/5000 Fastest Growing #4769

2017 – Inc. 500/5000 Fastest Growing #4018

2017 – Best of State Statue (BOSS) Science and Technology

2017 – Best of State Award (Advertising Agency)

2017 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2017 – Best of State Award (Interactive Multimedia)

2017 – Best of State Award (Web Design)

2017 – Best of State Award (Web Development)

2017 – Best of State Award (Marketing)

2016 – Best of State Award (Advertising Agency)

2016 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2016 – Best of State Award (Interactive Multimedia)

2016 – Best of State Award (Web Design)

2016 – Best of State Award (Web Development)

2016 – Utah AMA (Social Media Campaign)

2016 – WebAwards (Suse.com)

2016 – WebAwards (MicroFocus.com)

2015 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2015 – Best of State Award (Interactive Multimedia)

2014 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2014 – Best of State Award (Web Design)

2014 – Best of State Award (Interactive Multimedia)

2013 – Inc. 500/5000 Fastest Growing #1657

2013 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2013 – Best of State Award (Web Design)

2013 – Best of State Award (Interactive Multimedia)

2013 – The Webby Awards

2013 – AIGA 100 Award of Merit (National Geographic Site)

2012 – Bill Brady: BusinessQ Magazine’s “40 Under 40”

2012 – UV50 14th Fastest Growing Company in Utah Valley

2012 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2012 – Best of State Award (Web Design)

2012 – Best of State Award (Interactive Multimedia)

2011 – Michael Janda: BusinessQ Magazine Cover

2011 – Awwwards Site of the Day

2011 – Best of State Statue (BOSS) Science and Technology

2011 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2011 – Best of State Award (Web Design)

2011 – Best of State Award (Interactive Multimedia)

2011 – FWA Award for Tropicana Tropolis

2010 – Michael Janda: BusinessQ Magazine’s “40 Under 40”

2010 – Art-Spire 100 Best Digital Agencies in the World

2010 – BusinessQ Magazine “Best Website” in Utah Valley

2010 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2009 – Best of State Award (Graphic Design)

2009 – Fast 50, 25th Fastest Growing Company in Utah

2009 – MWCN, 36th Fastest Growing Company in Utah

2009 – UV50, 23rd Fastest Growing Company in Utah Valley

2009 – Gold Addy for Warner Bros. Lego Batman Website

2009 – Addy Judge’s Choice, Lego Batman Website

2008 – CSS Hive Top 10 List

2008 – MWCN, 43rd Fastest Growing Company in Utah

2008 – UV50, 17th Fastest Growing Company in Utah Valley

2007 – CSS Mania Top 10 Best Designed Sites of the Year

2007 – viaVerio Outstanding New Partner Award

2006 – Promax/BDA Gold, ABC Family “Beautiful People”

BEST OF STATE WINNER x36

In 2017, we took home the title for Best Advertising Agency in Utah plus Best of State awards for graphic design, interactive multimedia, web design, web development and marketing. We were also honored to receive the Best of State Statue in the Science and Technology category, marking our second B.O.S.S. statue win and bringing our total Best of State award count to 36 since 2009.

Business in the front. Party in the front. It’s how we roll.

From numerous ping-pong breaks to cutthroat lunchtime board games, we believe fun sparks the creativity that makes our marketing so great. We also run Battle of the Brands, promote the lumberjack life with Flannel Season and engineer insane new ways to destroy pumpkins at our annual Slash Bash. Scroll for a good time.

GUTSY GAMES

The Gutsy Games is a one-of-a-kind obstacle course competition. Competitors crawl, slip, slide, plunge, climb and smash pumpkin-related obstacles as they compete to the finish line. The winner is given the most coveted prize: the honorable title of “Gutsy the Great.” Oh, and a cash reward of $500, useable as both a token of war and American standard currency. Check it out.

HOOTENANNY

This is an informal gathering with folk music and sometimes dancing. That’s what the dictionary says at least, but we do a little more than that. The Hootenanny at EKR is essentially a two-day ranch retreat for our employees and their families. Horseback riding, delicious food consuming, boat riding at the duck pond—everything fit for our hardworking team (and their relatives) itching to release their inner rancher. Learn more.

SLASH BASH

Slash Bash is an annual, post-Halloween, cathartic release of all your pent-up candy based energy. It isn’t complicated—we just get together and smash pumpkins. From sledgehammers to ninja swords, we find all sorts of ways to enjoy ourselves as we hone our smashing capabilities. We’ve even brought in a crane before, since dropping pumpkins from a crane is a downright good time. As wild as it sounds, it’s meant to be a family activity, so bring your partially moldy jack-o-lanterns, kids and aggression for some family fun you will never forget. Get the details.

FLANNEL SEASON

The most important accomplishment in any given year is probably the measure of how often people wore flannel. Because we understand this, we celebrate flannel season from Nov. 2 through May 12. Everyone deserves the good fortune of learning the power of the flannel. It’s the most valuable material on Earth.

Let’s work together.

From Silicon Valley to Silicon Slopes, EKR is the agency for brand starts, pivots and turns. We establish market share and accelerate growth for brands that are finding their first voice, that need to make a course correction, or that require a wholesale turnaround.